New York Comic Con brought the cast and executive producers of The Mysterious Benedict Society to the weekend event to talk about season two and what we could expect from this new adventure in the world built by writer Trenton Lee Stewart.
Joined by stars Tony Hale, Kristen Schaal, Mystic Inscho, Seth Carr, Emmy DeOliveira, and Marta Kessler, the group talked about their experiences filming the new season, and what it was like to be back in production on the show.
Mystic started the session off by describing how happy his character Reynie is. For the first time he is content and loves living with Ms. Perumal, but he misses his friends. That desire to reunite with his pals is quenched, but soon the happiness is turned upside down in the new season.
Constance Contraire of season one has also grown and changed. Marta Kessler describes the changes audiences can expect. Constance who was always supremely confident in the first season, has spent some time with Mr. Benedict, and while she maintains her confidence, Constance for once feels comfortable.
Seth Carr described how his character Sticky is learning not to be antisocial. The incredibly intelligent Sticky has learned to work within a team, instead of looking to solve problems on his own.
Mr. Benedict and Number Two, played by Tony Hale and Kristen Schaal are kidnapped in the first episode of the new season. While Emmy DeOliveira described her Kate as wanting to go out and fix the problem immediately, the fact that Number Two and Benedict are kidnapped and how each character would respond differently was not lost on Hale and Schaal. While Hale describes Benedict as not even knowing he was kidnapped at first, Schaal talked about how Number Two would struggle being in captivity. To Schaal, no one is going to cage Number Two without a fight.
Hale was asked about how he plays two very different characters (Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain) so well in the show. The actor responded with high praise for the wardrobe and set decorators and the production design for helping set the mood that allows him to transition between the two very different characters. Hale described the influence of the crew as being key in helping him to morph between the two parts.
Speaking of Curtain, Hale was asked if Mr. Curtain has changed at all between the seasons. Hale describes Curtain as being so tightly wound that they would need some sort of outlet to allow his character to have a means of ease.
While season one followed the details of the first book well with additional supplements to flesh out Mr. Benedict, the producers talked about how season two is going to follow the same spine and structure as book two in the series The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. Picking up on the notion of what to expect, the producers described their love for the books, and how they use to read them to their kids years ago.
This new season was shot in Los Angeles and one of the locations was the Queen Mary ship. While some members of the cast really enjoyed being able to tour the historic boat, Seth Carr described his dislike for the haunted stories and the possibilities of ghosts being on the ship. Marta Kessler described how her mother felt someone push her on the ship, when no one was around.
While teases from the season were given with some hints to the characters that will appear from the book, guest stars include Bronson Pinchot and Haley Joel Osment. The producers gave high praise to the cast of kids who would spend all day in school and then hit their marks for filming afterward.
As the panel closed, the cast and producers gave one word descriptions for the new season with roller coaster, globetrotting, funny, 180o, adventure just waiting for fans on October 26 when the new season is released on Disney+.